If you’re a free spirited friend, we hope you didn’t miss out on Khalid’s Free Spirit van tour that stopped by University Park. The tour hit up Penn State on March 22 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. to give away exclusive “Free Spirit” merch.
Photo by Abigail Roe
“Free Spirit” is the name of Khalid’s upcoming second studio album which RCA Records is set to release on April 5, 2019. The goal of the Free Spirit van tour is to promote Khalid’s upcoming album and embody “The College Experience.”
Some of the merch that was given away were t-shirts that said “Free Spirit,” stickers, air fresheners and of course rain ponchos since it was pouring at the time of the giveaways. However, the rain did not stop the crowd from showing up. To keep spirits high (and free), the van bumped a soundtrack of all songs Khalid.
Although there were positive aspects about the event, there were also negative ones.
They had everyone gather around the van and they were throwing merch into the crowd. People were pushing me forward, and I thought it had the potential to get messy,” said Liz Cooney, a junior majoring in labor and employment and public relations. “I don’t think the event should have been run like that, but it seemed like that’s how they wanted it to be. It could have gotten extremely out of hand.
Despite the highs and lows, the event received mostly positive traction considering how well Khalid’s album is known to his fans. The event was organized by Movin’ On due to their partnership with Sony Music to bring Khalid’s van tour to campus.
